In the Know

When you think of Non-Fiction books, you think thoughts like "this is longer than it has to be" or "this is boring". It's not really a coincidence that the same thoughts are conjured by this album.

The album cover they used for their "Preface" album is one of my favorite album covers of all time. I got the In the Know album on the old adage that if it has a good album cover, it must be a good album. That notion was thus defeated.

It's alternative half metal by the books, trying to strafe into Soundgarden territory, but without hooks or power whatsoever. The riffs repeat like crazy, and the vocal melodies are unmemorable and pretty stupid. The production isn't that hot either, I don't know if they had been listening to a lot of Kyuss that week or something, but they seem to be trying in vain to get that type of sound here.

The guitarwork is unimaginative and boring, like they were trying extra hard to play it simple and get that big break on mTV and a Lollapalooza slot or something. I was surprised that Alan Tecchio hit it so flat here, his performances with bands like Watchtower and Hades are no indication of this crapola.

The album is uninspired, uninteresting, and un-good. I would have given it a lower score, but I'd have to think an album scoring lower than 30 would be unfit to be even a drink coaster or frisbee. This album isn't THAT bad. The band did seem to have untapped potential. With better songs and a more metal production they would have been a good (not great) band. This album seems to be more like a vain attempt to jump on the post-grunge bandwagon than a real metal album. If you find it on the ground, you win. Actual money would best be spent elsewhere.